Survival Instincts
by LowePlays
Summary: The streets of Tokyo are covered in hidden Ghouls. They eat flesh of Humans. They may be superior to humans, but they are still being hunted. Ghouls kill ghouls, humans kill humans. It goes both ways. How can one ghoul, Seraph, survive in the middle? He faces both sides that he doesn't want to hurt. Still, being a ghoul means he must hurt humans to eat, to survive. Rated M for gore


**This really was just an idea that I had, so I hope it's okay. I'm sure a lot of people have done this, but it is a cool idea. Seraph is a kid who had his family killed by both the CCG and the Ghouls. The thing is, he is a Ghoul himself. Now that he is on his own, how does he survive by himself. Ghouls guard their territory and attack all Doves, civilians, and Ghouls. Most Kagune are and will be red, but there are also purple and yellow ones. Rare blue ones as well. Maybe a few black ones too?**

 **Thanks for your support, guys. Read on and enjoy!**

* * *

We never asked to live like this. We were simply born into this world. What we do, it's only to survive. At least, that's most of us. But you only seem to see the worst of us. Walking like you, talking like you, living like you. We can all do that. But we are not human. We are Ghouls.

Our diet is humans, the only thing we can eat.. Though sometimes we try to deny it, nothing can change the fact that is what we eat. Our brains, tongues, even stomachs are different than humans. Though you try to deny us our only source of food, you believe it is right for us to die. Children and women alike, it doesn't matter because we are the monsters of this world. But what you don't understand is that humans are the prey and we Ghouls are the predators.

What really sets us apart from our prey is our advanced strength and intelligence. Though we also have our Kagune Claws, our strength and intellect allows us to trap and efficiently consume our meals, even if we are forced to go without for a month. Our bodies can survive without the normal inefficient method humans imply and the enzymes in our guts can store a human's flesh for weeks, meaning having takeout every day is unnecessary.

Our Kagune, made from the RC cells in our bodies, breaks through the skin and is used as a weapon and also a means of devouring our victim. It isn't out of malice that we do so, but the means to lay down our hunger. Though they may come in different shapes and forms, they are all used to meet the same ends. Just remember Utaku are wings, Koukaku are shields, Rinkaku are tentacles, and Bikaku are tails.

The way I see it, humans may be our food, but they are not cattle to be raised. And we have every right to live beside you as sentient beings.

* * *

I wasn't always alone. I had a family. Two parents and a sister. Just a normal family like most others. My father worked to pay for bills and my mother would go "shopping" every week. My sister and I went to the same school, but we never really had many friends. We both excelled in sports and got good grades, but tried to stay out of the spotlight. People accepted us as humans. But we were not.

It was when I was almost ten, a week before my birthday. My father still hadn't come home yet as it was a work day, but it was later when we realized too late that he wouldn't be coming any time soon. Two Doves of the CCG came to our house and used their Quinques to slaughter my mother first, right in front of us. She had tried to fend off the two Investigators, but it was over in a mater of seconds. I'd seen blood before and it didn't disturb me much anymore. But when a person, let alone a family member dies in front of you, it is something different all together. They had tracked us down from my father.

In a panic, my sister and I leaped from the back window, a planned escape. I lead the way, being thee older brother. I ran faster than I ever had, running and jumping over walls and obstacles in the narrow alleyway. It was the worst place to be at a time like this. We ran quickly and kept away from the main streets of Tokyo, but we were kids. Choreography was not a strong talent of mine or my sister. We got lost.

It was around sunset when we found a small hut. It was abandon and sickly, moss and algae eating away at the thin walls. The windows were broken out and the lights didn't work. It was perfect for us. Too bad it wasn't empty. When my sister tried to enter, she was impaled by a red spear, made from something almost like blood. It was the Kagune of another ghoul.

With a fresh wave of fear, a left that place as fast as I could, tears coming from my eyes. I had just lost my entire family and it was this world's fault. I spent that night crying myself to sleep on the roof of an apartment building. I was alone, no friends and no family to go to. We were Ghouls, despised by the humans and other Ghouls were guarded. Few have the courage or intellect to take in another mouth to feed when they were already at risk. And so, I began my new life alone, crying for lost family.

* * *

Five years later, I turned fifteen. It was a hard life living alone, but it wasn't all bad. I could survive by killing a thief or mugger who decided to prey on the lone kid wandering the streets at night. There were no parent who could tell me what to do, but I still went to school. I told people my family was eaten by ghouls and get pity, but it didn't last long. It was normal in this world. Ghouls were monsters, eating the beautiful women and bad children. We were the Boogymen of real life. But we aren't that bad. Are we?

I didn't care. I started High school and some girls I started to have feelings for, but I reminded myself what would happen if I got too close, what my father had taught me. It would disrespectful to disobey a dead man. So I kept away. I still got good grades, but sometimes I left school early or didn't go at all. No one would, or even could tell me to do otherwise. Usually life felt too boring to go through the insanity of going to classes.

I was homeless, but the money I took from my meals were able to pay for my entertainment and clothes. I didn't need food like humans, so a major portion of the money didn't have to go to feeding myself as getting said money did that for me. Humans were food, but at least I was cleaning up the world of these filthy, lowly criminals. It gave me reason enough to bite into their flesh. And it wasn't too bad either, the flesh.

"Hey, Seraph! Wanna go play some basketball? We all know you're pretty good." It was my friend, Suya. Suya's been with me since junior high, after my family… left. He's a good guy and cares about my wellbeing. If only he knew what I was… He would probably be angry and disgusted. I tried to keep these types of thoughts out of my head.

"Sure, but only for a little while. I have homework to do." I followed behind Suya as he walked onto the schools playing fields.

"Hey guys! I got him to play!" A small group of other boys were there, looking tough. They laughed at the sight of me.

"This wimp? Like we need a weakling like him to make us feel better about ourselves when we're grinding him into the pavement. But it's not like we mind." The biggest of them stepped forward and cracked his knuckles.

"Oh, I think you'd be surprised! My bro Seraph here happens to be pretty talented. He could be on the team if he wasn't so lazy." Suya slapped a hand over my shoulder and gave a thumbs up.

"Yeah, right," A few said, walking to the starting positions. "He's on your team. Alex, you are too." The kid, presumably Alex grumbled as he walked over to our side. Something felt off. A little dark. He wasn't very tough-looking. He wouldn't be too hard to deal with.

"You ready, bro?" Suya looked slightly nervous. "Don't take this too badly, but I might have made a bet the I could beat them. Could you please play seriously?"

"Ugh! Sometimes I doubt why I'm even your friend sometimes if you keep making stupid bets like these. But I'll win without a problem. Just keep that Alex kid out of my shot. I don't trust him."

"Roger that, Captain." Suya walked to the side while I went to half court. The leader kid also went up to meet me.

"I hope you're ready to get eaten." He laughed before turning serious and passed it to me. I grabbed it and felt the leathery feel of the ball before passing it back. As soon as it touched his hands, he started a mad dash for the hoop. It bounced far ahead of him, only to meet back up just in time to be bounced again. I had anticipated this and ran beside him and let him advance until his leaped into the air. With an easy swipe, I stole the ball. With the ball in my hand, I landed and saw Alex running full steam at me.

With a skilled and practiced push, I passed the ball to Suya. Sidestepping, Alex ran right passed me and he met face first with the pole holding the hoop in the air. With that, he crumpled and his face told he was unconscious. I could see the pulse in his neck.

"Time!" Joey and the leader both rushed over to check on him, a bright red mark forming on his face. They checked his pulse and felt the bones of his neck. "He seems fine, but he should go to the nurse. I'll take him." Suya grabbed Alex's arm and pulled him over his back. He walked as fast as he could managed without injuring Alex.

"Well. I never expected that idiot to do _that._ Still, it could be said that, if he dies, it would be your fault. How's that sound?" The kid laughed along with his buddies.

"Well, to be all honest and stuff, it doesn't seem too bad. Because people die every day for the Ghouls and humans. It's no different now and it won't be different in a hundred years. So it doesn't really affect me." I kept a straight face, as if I would laugh along with their joke. They had probably planned this whole thing, though maybe not this far. "After all, I didn't do anything."

"You're insane. Do you really feel nothing for someone you might have killed? You're a statistical bastard." Their faces had gone from smug to creeped in a matter of seconds.

"Well, I'm not crazy, but that's just how the world is. Plus I don't even know this guy so why should I feel anything? Ghouls die for the CCG, Ghouls kill humans, and humans kill humans. It's natural if they die because they killed themselves. He's human."

"You must be insane if you're like that. What did you go through to become like this?"

"Let's just say, I have some experience with these kinds of things. After all, I don't have parents or my sister." I turned away as they ran, leaving behind their ball. I had probably given away too much, but at least they wouldn't bother me much after this. I bent down and laid a hand on the ball. It was scuffed in places and it's leathery feel had the scent of sweat mixed in. Those guys had played with this ball for a while, yet they had ran away and left it only so they could get away. I turned to the net and tossed it half heartedly to make a perfect shot.

"Good throw." I turned to see Suya walking across the court. "What happened to the guys? You show 'em your skills or what?"

"No. They were bored and left. They dropped the bet, by the way." I walked over and picked up the ball. Suya put his hands up and I tossed the ball to him. He shot the ball with ease to score a three pointer. Then he tossed me the ball.

"So, why do you always try to run away from everything?" The question caught me by surprise and my shot bounced off the rim. I caught the rebound and passed the ball to Suya.

"What do you mean? I don't always try to run." Suya dropped out from his shot and instead spun it on his finger.

"You know what I mean. I try to ask you about your family and you start talking about something else. When I ask about your health, you just walk away. And you always leave school early, but you never say where you're going. I don't even know where you live and yet you've been to my house. Twice!" The ball fell off of his finger and he tossed it over to me.

"It's private," I said, catching the ball. "It's something I don't like to bring up, at least. It brings up bad memories." I shot the ball at the three point line. It sunk it without a problem. Joey didn't go to get it.

"About the Ghoul who ate… nevermind. I can see it in your face. If that was the problem, you could have told me. I'm your friend, though. Is it that hard for you to accept?"

"I know you're my friend. I just don't feel that anyone should see, or know much about what happened. It was enough for me to experience. It's my problem, not something to dump on friends. Even best friends."

"Was it that bad? I lost my Uncle to Ghouls, but I didn't know him that much. But have you seen that new TV show? I heard it's super popular."

"No, I haven't. What's it about?"

"I heard it's about a girl who was a Ghoul, but she decided to live as a human because she loved a human and changed for him. Can you believe it? I thought that only girls would watch it, but a few guys are interested in it."

"Is that… possible? For a Ghoul to become human?"

"No. I'm pretty sure that's just a fantasy. Though it would be cool. Why?"

"Nothing. It's just a thought. But it would be nice if they could. Who knows. Maybe you'll meet a pretty female ghoul and want to become a ghoul..."I wore a devilish smile and that glint in my eyes.

"Bro, if I ever saw a pretty Ghoul, she would probably be eating my face off, not trying to become human for me."

"I was just kidding. No need to ruin it." I laughed lightly. "But seriously. Would you choose humanity over love? Just a question."

"It depends. Maybe, but what matters is… what size is she?"

"My god..." That was a classic from Suya. Only interested in the body. "Well, I should be going. I want to get this homework done before tomorrow. See you later." I started walking.

"C'mon, Seraph. We still have one more class. Ghoul anatomy? Remember?"

"I don't like that class. The teacher is a creep and I think I know as much about Ghouls as I'll ever want to." I walked by the spot I'd been reading under the tree and grabbed my bag. Suya was still following me. He didn't say anything as I swung the bag over my shoulder. I walked to the gate and he followed.

"You don't need to come with me. I'll be fine on the way home. It's the middle of the day, so Ghouls won't attack me. Don't worry."

"It's not that, Seraph. I'm just worried about your health. You're looking a little… underfed. When was the last time you ate?"

"What? I ate this morning. It's no big deal. I'll get something on the way." It was true, I did plan to get some food today.

"I'll come with you. I'm feeling a bit hungry too." I didn't plan for this. He never skipped class. He was occasionally late, but he never missed a lesson. Was he really going to come with me?

"Fine. But I'm not going to pay for it, mind you." I started walking, passing the gate as the bells rang for seventh period. I saw in the corner of my eye Suya hesitating before following me. He was really doing it. Whatever.

The streets held plenty of people who would taste fine, people I could have been eating if Suya hadn't joined with me. I thought of that TV show, the romance one. Could Ghouls really become humans? I'd eaten human food before, but the food was disgusting. How could they eat cake without puking their guts out? Now would be the time to see if he could handle it, for Suya.

They passed a few food places, including an Udon shop that Suya said was his favorite. When I said I didn't want any, he agreed to have whatever I was going to have. If it was my choice, he would be a cannibal. Seeing a random shop, I stopped and walked in.

"Ah, hello," The chubby man behind the counter said. "How might I help you two? And students? Anything you want, 20% off." He laughed a bit.

"Uh, I'll get the Tentsuyu Tempura. How about you, Suya?"

"I'll have your bowl of Special Udon." He really loves his Udon…

"Alright kids. Just give me a little while. You can just sit up here while you wait." The man went into the back of the shop and some chopping sounds came from there as he prepared the food. I'd never had Tentsuyu Tempura, but it sounded alright. Hopefully it was a good choice.

"So, which girl did you say you had a crush on? I forgot which one she was." Suya was scratching his head and held a thinking face.

"I-I told you? I don't remember telling you." Suya laughed and pointed at my face.

"You didn't! But that reaction was priceless! You should have seen it yourself." He laughed for a few more minutes and took more time to regain his breath. His face slowly returned to it's calm demeanor. He then ran a hand through his brown hair. "Look, Seraph. It's okay to open up a little. You don't need to say everything, but if you just told me a little of your past life? It isn't that much, but it's a start."

"Still, what happened to me is for me alone to live through. I don't want to tell anyone." Suya's face dropped a bit, but he tried to keep his face normal. But I saw it. "Fine. Only one thing." Almost like a child getting a present, his face lit up. He shifted to make his seat more comfortable, as if I was going to tell a story.

"When I was a kid, my father never came home. We were worried, but that was normal for him. He would stay late to pay for our bills. Thats when we were attacked. It took both my mom and sister before I could escape and I've been living in a foster home ever since." I stopped and closed my eyes. Suya waited for me to continue and I opened an eye. "What?"

"You mean that's it? Jeez. I thought there would be more." Suya leaned back in his chair and sighed.

"It doesn't really matter right now. You said I only needed to start with a little. Plus the food's coming anyways." The cook came out with a bowl and plate. He laid them both out in front of us. I looked at Suya's Udon and thought about how it would taste. Then I almost puked.

"You two enjoy it! Made it just for you! Dig in!"

"Thank you, sir. We will. Itadakimasu!" Suya started eating his Udon quickly while I looked at my Tempura. It appeared to be deep fried… something. It also came with some strange sauce. I picked up a set of chopsticks from the pile and split them. Hesitantly, I dipped the deep fried Tempura into the sauce and lifted it to my mouth. I quickly took a bite and almost instantly regretted it.

The taste was like it had been sitting in a dumpster for a month before being dipped in piss and sweat. The sauce tasted like it had been collected from the devil himself it was so spicy. I almost spat it out, but I had to be human. For Suya. It probably took a lot of work to become human anyways. This was just a test. I swallowed the bite and quickly took another. It might have been good had I only been a human.

"How's your's?" Suya put down his bowl and placed his wooden chopsticks in the broth at the bottom. He had already finished while I had simply eaten half of a Tempura Tentsuyu thing.

"It's alright. A bit spicy for me, but good all the same." I almost couldn't keep it down, but I swallowed extra hard and coughed to clear my throat.

"Spicy? You have almost no tolerance for Indian food then. Never try their curry." He swooped down and grabbed one of the remaining Tempura and dipped it. He took a bite and swallowed. "It's hardly spicy at all. Man, you are weak. But the shrimp and fish inside are pretty good, if I do say so myself." The man behind the counter nodded and smiled.

"I'm not very experienced with spicy food. I usually just eat Ramen and Onigiri." I quickly swallowed a bite and chewed on air for a few seconds. Suya shook his head and took his wallet out. He handed over his money and got the 20% off. "Could I get some water," I asked the cook. In seconds, a bottle of clean water was placed beside my plate.

"I don't know why you think my Tentsuyu is spicy. I tried to make is pretty mild. I'm sorry for displeasing you." The man bowed and apologized.

"No, it's fine. It tastes great and I thank you." I took another bite with Tentsuyu sauce and followed it with plain water. Ghouls could only eat human flesh and drink water. Still, mixing water with the Tempura was worse than I thought and I started coughing. A mouthful of water and food fell out and fell to the floor.

"Seraph, are you alright? Are you choking?" Suya started to pat me on the back while I struggled to catch my breath. I pushed myself from the table and out of the chair. I'd had enough of the human food. Tempura was not for Ghouls.

"I'm s-sorry, sir. I-it's not your fault." I pulled out a bill from my pocket to pay, but the man simply held up his hands, saying he could not accept. It was expected. I'd choked on food he'd made, but it wasn't his fault. It was mine for trying to eat so fast. And it made me feel guilty.

"Are you sure you're alright? Are you feeling sick? Do you need me to walk you home?" Suya. Always too caring. He isn't my mother, but he seems to think so. I'm fine, right?

"I'll be fine on my own. Plus you don't even know where my house is. I just tried to swallow unchewed food, that's all. Still, I don't think I could eat any more." I grabbed my bag from the floor and swung it over my shoulder and walked out of the shop. Suya followed, grabbing his own bag. We both stood out on the street, watching the traffic move along. "Have you ever wondered... what is it like? To live like a ghoul? To eat humans every time you're hungry?"

"Actually, I have." Suya turned to face me. "I've thought about it because I was prepared to follow you to the academy. You know, the ones where they train the next Ghoul Investigators like Arima and stuff. You were going there, right?" He'd been studying for me? Thanks, Suya, but that isn't the case.

"I was just planning to just get a small job from some random place. I don't plan on living with a wife and kids any time soon, if that's what you're worried about." I started walking further down the street, but Suya quickly stopped me by grabbing my arm. I spun around and knocked his hand free.

"Sorry, but I really think you should join the CCG. You're great at sports and you're smart, which seems to be rare these days. You could easily be any rank you wanted. Just start coming to Ghoul Anatomy sometimes. Okay?" Suya's eyes looked pleading and he always knew what to say to convince me. If that didn't work, he used that face.

"Fine, but only a few times. I don't like going through the whole Ghoul thing every day. Anyways, I'll see you tomorrow, alright?" I held up my hand in goodbye and started walking, but Suya stopped me again.

"Tomorrow's Saturday. No school."

"I'm still coming to see you tomorrow. Be ready around noon." I started walking again, not even looking to see if he would respond to me. I didn't care. He deserved to get a bit of a scare.

* * *

Dusk was fast at claiming the last lights of day, allowing the lights of Tokyo to brighten the world instead. The moon hung suspended in the sky, a chunk missing from it's last full moon. Slowly it was waning. It was just bright enough to let me see as I jumped over the tubes and wires on human homes. It was like freedom to stop holding back and run and jump as hard as I could.

My prey was in a car he'd stolen. Sometimes I liked to picture myself as one of the heroes in Suya's books, but I knew that I was none. People saw me as a murderer, a monster. It didn't matter to me very much, but the look of humans I killed... They rarely haunted me, but when they did, it was with vengeance. To feed myself was to survive, to survive is to kill, to kill is to eat. That was my philosophy. At least, most of it.

Leaping high, I cleared the gap between two buildings and my opened school uniform fluttered in the wind. Midair, I noticed the car was slowing down, preparing to turn. I ran to the next end of the buildings and took the leap. I landed carefully and rolled. It stopped my momentum and I watched as the stolen car was waiting at a garage door. Crawling on the edge, I flipped off the ledge to the alley below.

With a light thump, I pressed myself against the shadowed walls and waited as the car drove into the garage. I set my bag down next to a dumpster and hid it with a bag. As the door started to close, I jumped through and hid in the darkness as the heavy and large door fell into place. With my meal so close, I let my instinct take over. A second was all it took for my eyes to go from a plain brown to black and red. My Kagune easily crept from my lower back and formed into a dark red tail, tipped with a jagged spike. My Bikaku.

A click told me a door was opening. With reflex, I swept my tail forward and stabbed the tire. It popped and the movement it caused forced the door to close again. I struck again, this time to break a window out. The man inside yelled, indication to his age and gender. I'd followed him based only on the fact that he'd broken out the window in the first place, but this man was young to be stealing a car. Maybe even my age?

Using my Tail in a tight space was the easiest and it didn't have as long of a reach as a Rinkaku, but it was enough to compete with the shorter ones. With a quick stab, I ran the spike on the tip through the chair and into the thief's heart. He died quickly as his pulse was quickly stopped. I retracted my Kagune and stored it back within my back. My kakugan also dissipated, but a bit slower. Time to really chow.

It was true, there was the rumor that ghouls favored preying on women. It was true, but for the fact that their flesh simply tasted fatter and tastier. Sometimes, there are a few who prey on women for their bodies, but a kid like me was in for the taste. With my method, it was more like a treat. And I'm being truthful here. I bit deeply into the man's calf and broke it off at the knee. It was a sick crack, but I simply ate the meat. It had been three weeks since my last meal, as I tried to keep my meals to a normal rate. Eating like the few binge eaters on the News was almost sickening to me, stuffing myself with so many dead bodies. Still, I had my own preferences. I liked my meals to still be warm. Thinking on what I could be eating, I let the excess blood drip onto the floor of the car.

Going unnoticed was impossible. Every ghoul left something behind. We never ate the bones or brain. The Brain was slightly acidic and tasted almost like human food. But the other organs were deliciously devoured. Then there was the blood. There was five liters of the stuff in a human, so there was no reason not to be any blood. Even if we ate a lot at one time, we don't usually eat an entire human by ourselves. I usually just eat the limbs and the occasional liver or heart. Spitting out a toenail, I ripped the man's arm off and took a chunk out of his shoulder. It was still warm and my favorite part. This man's flesh was tough, but still tasty as the younger adults always were. It was always the most worked area of a persons body, whether they knew it or not. I ripped another bite off and chewed it roughly.

It was when I bit into bone when I realized I'd finished the rest of the bicep. I bit deeply into the forearm and let the blood rush past my teeth and felt that the body was losing it's heat. I would need to finish my food quickly. Digging through the man's pocket, I found about five thousand yen. That would be put to good us.

* * *

It was at least fifteen minutes later that I opened the door and allowed the puddle of collected blood to pour out onto the garage floor. I left most of a leg and the torso alone but I took an eye and chewed on it as I stepped out of the car and avoided the puddle. I might have had another uniform to wear, but this was my only good pair of shoes.

Using my ghoul strength, I broke the automatic opener and pulled the door open manually. It crashed closed behind me while I hid behind the wall, back in the alley. I opened my bag and pulled out my spare casual outfit. _I'm gonna have to visit my hideout tonight_ , I though to myself, half reminding myself. I didn't like going there as it drew too much attention to it the more often I visited. By the time I got there, I would probably need to sleep there. Tonight, I blame my ineptitude.

Relying on the inhuman speed I possessed, I scaled up the wall. Up a few stories was no problem to climb, especially if your fingers were hard enough to punch straight through the fragile mortar and stone. Light as a ninja, I landed on the roof and saw a kid standing there.

As a way to discipline children, mothers will tell them to obey or a Ghoul could swallow them in one bite. It was hardly true, as a child's flesh is hardly as tasty as the mother herself. And swallowing anything in one bite could make someone choke. I'd had enough experience to tell anyone. Seeing me, the kid standing up here looked at me in horror and I pulled my black hair to cover my face.

"W-wait," the kid called out, sounding on the verge of tears. He was probably eight or nine. I knew the terror he felt. I'd felt it myself five years ago. "A-are you really a G-ghoul? Do you r-really eat bad kids?" This kid was innocent. But I couldn't let him fully see my face.

"I don't eat kids." The kid was apprehensive. There was a bit of blood staining the side of my cheek and on my chin, but I was turned away from the kid hide that fact. Hearing that, from the mouth of a Ghoul, the threat made by their mother's fake, it made the kid doubt his sense of truth.

"A-are you bad? Are you the villain? You look to me a person." This kid watches too much TV. Still, he might accept me as a person...

"I'm not a villain, but I am bad. I won't eat you, though." Knowing that I wasn't to be trusted, he still took a step forward. Then he stopped. I can't blame him. What is he supposed to believe? Am I the monster? Or am I just a guy who just climbed onto the roof? "You shouldn't get close to me or my kind," I muttered. It was just loud enough.

"Are all Ghouls... like you? Or do they eat children too?" This kid was too curious. Hadn't his parents told him Curiosity killed the Cat? He was getting to close.

"They aren't as kind as I am. You should forget about me and just go to sleep." I stood up and prepared to jump to the next building, but a hand was suddenly holding me back. Without thinking, I jumped anyways.

Luckily, the kid had a strong grip. Unluckily, he came with me. He clung to me as I cleared the landing. It was just proof that I was a Ghoul. I was concerned for the kid, so I looked at him, still covering half of my face. When the kid looked at me, he saw the blood from my meal. Though he was shocked, he wasn't entirely scared. He wasn't screaming or crying, but he was pale in the moonlight.

"Shit!" I looked away quickly and dropped the kid's hand. "Why did you do that? I didn't want to show you that." I wanted to leave the kid there, to find his way but I wasn't heartless like most would believe. Hurting the kid would be useless.

"Are you really a Ghoul? You don't act like I thought one would." The kid's words confused me. Blood was on my face and hands and he says I don't act like one? I just jumped over a three or four meter gap. What about me isn't ghoulish enough?

"Of course I am! I just don't want to hurt a kid." I didn't want to face him.

"Show me your Ghoul powers," he whispered. Ghoul... Powers? Is this kid for real? What kind of shows does this kid watch?

"Kid, we aren't the characters in your show. We eat and kill people. We aren't nice and your kind hunt us because of what we are. We don't have powers or abilities." Still, this kid acted like I could be a real human. Maybe a wannabe if I was lucky. I owed it to him and my pride to show him I was being truthful. It might have been a mistake, but I released my Kagune. Both of them.

A pair of dark wings and a tail came from my back, looking like some kind of bird. And it was all I needed to convince the kid I was the real deal. Turning around, I flicked my tail through the air and walk towards the kid. My Kagugan showed their red irises and must have looked scary to the kid. I quickly clamped a hand over his mouth.

"I won't hurt you. I already told you that. I'm just gonna fly you back home. Take my hand." With my right hand covering my face, the kid was forced to take my left hand. He was scared, but he trusted me enough to take it. It was a bad habit if he kept it, but he would most likely remember this as a dream.

"You look like a human and a dragon had a baby. Are you really gonna fly me with you dragon wings?" Like a dragon and a human had a baby, huh? You're more of the baby here. I nodded and I prepared to jump again. For effect, I did a flap of the wings and spread them out wide. Then I jumped back over to the building that I assumed is where he lives.

"Now you can go to sleep. It's probably past your bedtime." I let go of the kid's hand and I turned around.

"Can you come back some time later? You seem pretty fun. You aren't a bad guy to me."

"If you ever do see me again, it won't be for a good reason. I am a bad person. But maybe we will talk again. See ya, kid." I raised a hand as I walked away and my kagune retracted. I'd exhausted to much for just a kid. It was almost a bad thing to be nice. As a cloud covered the moon, complete darkness fell on the darker part of town and I vanished from the rooftops.

* * *

I was barely able to get to my place before two in the morning. It was a distance from where I usually stayed, near the school. It was in the eighteenth district, which isn't very ghoul active. Still, better safe than sorry, I didn't come here often. My hideout was more of an abandon apartment. No one ever came here, but it was somewhat suspicious if someone saw me come through the window.

I kept most of my belongings in the closet, a pretty obvious place if someone looked, but hidden from plain sight. There wasn't any electricity, but I didn't need it. I didn't need a fridge and lights would give the place away. All in all, it was the closest thing to a home as I could really get.

In the closet, I pulled out a set of my pajamas. I had to shake them out to clear them of dust. It was just proof that I didn't stay here much. I looked at the room that I called my bedroom contained a broken night stand, a broken bed frame and an old mattress. The closet door was build into the wall and was hard to close due to it's fragile age. It was all I could do to keep it from cracking.

I slipped off my black t-shirt, my jacket hanging out on the couch. I looked down at my stomach and saw no six pack. There was some muscle there, but I wasn't very beefy. I was a skinny guy and that was just me. I pulled the soft sleepwear shirt on and also exchanged my jeans for sweatpants. I picked up a bag from my closet and pulled out my spare uniform. Opening my school bag, I took out a plastic sack the contained my bloodstained clothes. I would need to wash them later. Ugh. I set the bag aside.

I laid my clean uniform on top of my bag and decided it was a day. I sat down on my bed and a creak came from the poor bed. It's been years since anyone had called me, as a ghoul, a cool person. Well, a person at all. I was always a monster as a ghoul. It was just the way things were, are, and will always be. I flopped down on the bed and then creaked loudly before going silent. I though about what other ghouls were like, being monsters like the legends or more like me. Living with humans was the only way I knew how to survive. I was raised that way, by my parents. Different people I imagined were all with black and red eyes and a kagune. All ate humans. And I was no different from them.

That night, I didn't sleep much and I turned over several times. My mind kept me up for hours and my stomach clenched sometimes in the darkness. I don't remember eating anything bad, but why was I so disgusted? Was it from using both my kagune twice? I didn't understand why I felt so sick. Or was I simply just sick? If so, it should pass by morning. I pulled up my notebook from school and I drew a small swirling pattern until the pencil slipped from my hand as I dropped into sleep.

* * *

In my dreams, I saw myself. I had my kagune out, both my Ukaku and Bikaku, and they were whipping around. I could tell I was attacking something and I couldn't see my face very well, but I knew it was me. Something was attacking back and it looked like they were winning. Then someone else joined me. I couldn't see their face, but they were shorter than I was. Who was that? Why would they be helping me? What was it attacking me? A few moments of battle and then the scene shifted.

I was sitting next to someone and I was holding their hand. I couldn't see who it was, but it must have been the person who helped me in battle. Was it a girl? I could see I was saying something, but I couldn't hear over the sound of birds and cicadas. Then it changed again.

A blood-filled alley was littered with body parts from multiple bodies. In the center, there was me. I was gnawing of the arm of a woman and my kagune was a very dark red and was moving through the blood that covered the ground. Soon I threw away the half eaten arm and ripped off the next arm. The sight was horrific. I tried to step back and get out of this crazy dream. My foot landed in a puddle and the ghoul that was also me turned. I froze and held still, but it was too late to escape the eyes of myself. The ghoul launched at me and bit into my neck. Then I was impaled through the gut.

* * *

I woke up with a start as I fell off my bed. The edge pressed into my gut and it explained the impalement part of the dream. But what was the rest about? I couldn't remember much of the dream I was having. What was it about?

Looking at my watch, I noticed what time. It was almost time for school and I hadn't even left! I leaped off the bed and grabbed my uniform. I quickly changed into my school uniform pants and grabbed my shirt and jacket. I left the tie behind on the floor without looking at it. I didn't need it. I picked up my bag and rushed into the bathroom. I hardly looked at myself in the algae-covered mirror and I grabbed the bottle of toothpaste from the sink. I had a toothbrush at school from being late before. I grabbed the money from last night and shoved the wad into my pocket.

I jumped straight from the window, down to the ground four stories down and rolled to avoid killing myself. With my top still behind me, I pulled off my sleep shirt and shoved it through the strap of my bag and pulled on my white button up shirt. It was difficult to do up the buttons, but I'd done it before. I left the top two buttons open to breathe and pulled on my black coat. It made me feel like I was going to some famous school whenever I put it on. The emblem felt too big and the size felt too small when I buttoned the coat. Good thing I only had to deal with this for three more years.

Running made me feel free and jumping felt almost like flying. The morning light was majestic, lighting the path in a warm yellow and orange. The sun was barely above the buildings of Tokyo. I ran on top of the roofs of the seventeenth district. It was a rush, of course, racing against time. I leaped several meters to clear alleyways and small streets. Sometimes I had to land on the ground to go through human traffic, but I preferred to fly over them all. It wasn't a sense of hierarchy, but the feeling of the wind. I could run and jump as much and as hard as I could up here.

I had to get to the nineteenth ward for school, where I usually lived, in a matter of minutes. I was still a ways away and I still had to have time to get my shoes and books from my locker. I needed more time. I looked around and tried to search for a shortcut, but I was on a direct route to the nineteenth ward. It was right down the main road that I was running along side. I leaped right over the next alley way with ease. I landed and was running again the second I landed. Would I be there in time? I passed into the sixteenth ward, directly next to the nineteenth. Good thing I only had to cross halfway.

I watched the time move as I did. I ran over the buildings and jumped with all the energy I had, sometimes clearing an entire building. I was breathing hard, but it was something to feel the rush. I slid and jumped on a dime and knew where and when to act. Midair, I felt a twinge in my stomach and I instantly felt sick. I landed badly and tumbled over the hard concrete roof, barely clearing the fence placed around the edge. I struggled to move but my arms and legs, my entire body actually, hurt. I didn't mean to land that way. So much for making it on time.

I groaned and held my head. It was hard to move. Why was I hurt this badly like this? I wasn't usually hurt at all unless it was serious. I was a ghoul after all. We couldn't be hurt by the usual bump or scrapes, and our bodies could survive gunshots. I groaned as I rolled into a kneeling position and leaned back into a seiza-like seating. I rubbed my arm, but nothing felt broken. I brushed off the dirt on my sleeves and pants and struggled to stand. I pulled up my sleeves and saw I had only a small scratch on my elbow. It was bleeding, but slightly. It quickly healed and sealed itself.

I'd only seen my own blood a few select times when I was seriously hurt. After a fall like that, I never thought I could be hurt. It took me a minute to collect myself and I climbed over the fence. There was a small alley below and the ledge only offered twenty or thirty centimeters. With a long jump, I landed on the next building. Without a fence, it was easy.

Still, I felt a pain in my chest and I checked the time for how late I would be. Looking at the clock face, I saw it shattered and the hands weren't moving. Great. I pulled my shirt up to check my chest and saw there was only a small scrape, but it was also healing. What was it like when I landed? Slowly the pain started to fade as the entire mark disappeared without a scar.

I broke out into a run again and leaped high above the next building. It was easy to get up to the next, higher building and landed like an athlete. I kept running, all the way through the sixteenth ward and into the nineteenth, I jumped down from a lower building to walk to school. I was half running past people and rushed past the gate. The grounds were empty as I walked through the doors. I ticked in my code and took off my shoes. I pulled out my books and my school shoes from my locker. I put the books in my bag and dropped my shoes on the floor. I slipped them on before throwing my casual shoes in the metal box and closed it. Quickly, I ran up the stairs.

"Mr. Tsuski! You're late by almost half the class!" I looked at the clock on the wall and saw that it was half past eight.

"Sorry, Ms. Moriyama. It won't happen again." I bowed and walked to my desk. I dropped my backpack, my night shirt still in the strap. I slumped down into my chair and sat behind the desk. Three more years of this, huh?

* * *

 **Thanks for joining me in this chapter of this Tokyo Ghoul fan fiction. I hope you enjoyed it and maybe you'll stick around for the next chapter? I promise there will be more fighting scenes in the next one, so stay tuned for that.**

 **Thanks to my subscribers for staying with me after a lot that's happened. You guys are awesome. Well, maybe not Johnny, but the rest of you are cool. Johnny! Keep writing! Next chapter needs more fighting! But thanks for reading my story. I don't know how much you enjoy it, but I like writing for you guys. So, thanks for that as well.**

 **This may be just a way to express myself, but please don't think of me as a weirdo. Even if I probably am. Love ya guys!**

 **LowePlays, Signing out. Stay fierce.**


End file.
